Fixture for assembling articles



April 30, 1946. J. L. BAUM FIXTURE FOR ASSEMBLING ARTICLES Filed March 18, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 30, 1946 FIXTURE FOR ASSEMBLING ARTICLES John L. Baum, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 18, 1944, Serial-No. 527,113 1 Claim. (c1. 113-99) This invention relates to fixtures for assembling articles, particularly to fixtures for assembling fabricated gear blanks, and has for it object the provision of new and improved fixtures for assembling articles.

One fixture embodying the invention comprises a hard steel plate having a flat upper surface, a plurality of jaw arranged symmetrically around the plate, means for moving the jaws to cause them to engage and position a gear blank positioned on the plate, a pair of posts extending upwardly from the plate, a cross bar movably supported on the posts, means for raising and lowering the cross bar, and a chuck carried by the cross bar designed to hold a gear hub blank accurately aligned with a gear blank held within the jaws, whereby the gear blank and the hub blank may be welded together in a predetermined relationship.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in

which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fixture embodying the invention with portions thereof broken away.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the fixture.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of the fixture taken along line 3-3 of Fig.

2, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an element of the fixture.

Referring now to the drawings, a flanged annular plate Ill (Fig. 1) secured to a flanged base plate II is provided with three oblong, radial guide slot I2-l2, so positioned that the longitudinal axes thereof form 120 angles with each other. The upper surface I4 of the plate Ill is ground perfectly flat so that it lies in a horizontal plane.

The plates l and H form a chamber l3 (Figs. 1 and 2) therebetween in which is rotatably mounted a scroll gear l5 having a ring gear is formed thereon. The ring gear l6 meshes with a, pinion I! mounted in a bore l8 formed in the flanges of the plates Ill and II. The pinion. I! has an aperture l9 formed therein into which the end of a wrench (not shown) may be inserted to rotate the pinion l1 and thereby rotate the scroll gear IS.

A plurality of jaw 2l-2I (Figs. 3 and 4) having guiding grooves 22-22 formed therein are slidably secured in the guide slots l2-l2 by tongues 23-23 projecting into the slots l2-l2.

The jaws 2l-2l have gear teeth 24-24 (Fig. 2) formed thereon which mesh with the scroll gear 15. A plurality of curved gripping surfaces 25-25 formed on the jaws 2l-2I are spaced equal distances from the center of the plate I 0. The gripping surfaces 25-25 project above the surface M of the plate in and are moved simultaneously at equal rates of speed toward or away from the center of the plate H) by the scroll gear l5 when the latter is rotated, depending upon which direction the scroll gear is rotated.

A pair of standards -30 (Figs. 2 and 3) are Welded to the plate It) upon opposite ends of a diameter of the plate, and a pair of blocks 32-32 having tapped vertical bores 35-35 formed therein are welded to the upper ends of the standards 35-30. Each of the standards 30-30 has a dovetail groove 3| (Fig. 3) formed therein, and a cross bar 36 (Fig. 2) has a pair of dovetailed arms 31-31 depending therefrom and fitting slidably within the grooves 3l-3l. The cross bar 36 is adjustably supported upon the standards 30-33 by a pair of bolts 38-38 threaded into the tapped bores 35-35 and provided with knurled heads close the jaws.

39-39. A pair of collars 40-45) (Fig. 2) secured to the bolts 38-38 rotatably secure the unthreaded upper portions of the bolt 38-38 in a pair of holes 4I-4l extending through the cross bar 36.

A universal chuck (Figs. 1 and 2) of conventional design, is secured to the cross bar 35 coaxially with the plate It). Jaws 46-46 of the chuck 45 extend beyond and are engaged by a threaded cap 41, which may be turned to open or The cross bar 36 and the chuck 45 carried thereby may be moved toward or away from the plate Ill by screwing the bolt 33-33 farther into or out of the tapped bore 35-35.

In the operation of the fixture described here inabove, a cylindrical hub blank 50 (Fig. 2) is inserted in the jaws 46-46 and is secured therein by turning the cap 41. A gear blank 5! is then placed u on the flat upper surface M of the plate In and the pinion I1 is rotated by a wrench (not shown) to move the jaws 2l-2l toward the center of the plate In until the gripping surfaces 25-25 firmly secure the gear blank 5| concentrically with respect to the plate Ill, and center the gear blank beneath the hub blank 50. The bolts 33-38 are then actuated to force the hub blank 53 against the gear blank 5|. While the hub blank 59 and the gear blank 5| are thus securely held in concentric relationship, the hub blank is welded to the gear blank. After the welded assembly has cooled, the chuck 45 is operated to unclamp the hub blank 50 and the bolts 38-38 are turned to raise the chuck 45 away from the hub blank. The jaw 2l-2l are then withdrawn from engagement with the welded gear blank and the welded assembly is removed from the fixture, after which the above described operation may be repeated.

The above described fixture is adapted to quickly and accurately align hub and gear blanks and to securely hold such blanks in aligned relationship While they are being welded and while they are cooling thereafter.

What is claimed is:

In an article assembling fixture, a horizontally disposed circular plate having a level upper surface and also provided with a plurality of radial slots, a plurality of jaws having shanks formed thereon, said shanks being slidably positioned in said slots, means for simultaneously moving said jaws toward and away from the center of said plate to secure a gear blank concentrically on said plate, a pair of standards having dovetail grooves formed longitudinally therein and also being provided with a pair of longitudinal tapped bores in ends thereof, said standards being secured vertically on said plate, a cross bar having dovetailed arms which fit slidably into said dovetail grooves, a chuck secured to said cross bar in a position concentric with said circular plate and designed to hold a cylindrical blank, and a pair of bolts designed to be screwed into said tapped bores for moving said cross bar and said chuck toward said plate to force a cylindrical blank held by said chuck against a gear blank secured on said plate concentrically with the cylindrical blank.

JOHN L. BAUM. 

